AU: Avalon is Rising: Legends of a Betrayed Legacy
by Evie-Priestess
Summary: Continuation of AU: Avalon is Rising: Legends of the Fifth House
1. The First Death

They were standing at the end of a long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.

As one the trio felt the strange purpose of the place and knelt to the floor. Hissing they began the long and complex enchantment they had found in the hidden parseltongue manuscripts of the library.

- Three stand as one in thy sacred chamber as three once stood before, the three descended from thy lines. We demand thy chamber is returned to thy faithful heirs, wrest from the control of the bastard of a dishonoured squib line. We claim what is our right. We claim the first of the chambers of Avalon. We claim the keystone. -

The two boys transformed into their phoenix forms, but still Amaryllis knelt, and drew a slim blade, and sliced the palms of her hands along her bonding scars, and placed them on the floor of the chamber.

- With virgin blade I spill virgin blood. Blood of my blood built this chamber, tying it to his very blood. As the heir to that blood and the senior of that line, I claim this place as my own. As I spill my blood let it be so! - The phoenix each dropped a single pearly tear onto the cuts as a blazing aura of red and silver flooded the room, transforming it into the first chamber of Avalon.

That complete with a small pop the vampiric elf stood in Ryll's place sword out. Progressing further into the chamber they entered the inner room of the sanctuary. Wrapped in both Ryll's shadows and the phoenixes' invisibility they observed for a moment. On the altar lay the girl they recognised from the chess set of the previous year, a small black-robed figure with flaming red hair. Another figure stood in the shadows, but Dray and Vius flew to the girl, who lay there as white as marble, and so very cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she hadn't seen the basilisk.

Ryll dropped her wrap of shadows and flared her aura to its maximum extent.

"Come out Riddle, I know you're there. I know you escaped that cursed diary. I thought you had honour Riddle, but you sap the strength of one of your own. Tell me Riddle what is the penalty for betraying Slytherin ... or its ally Avalon?"

The observing shadow stepped forth from the darkness that sheltered it.

"How would you know, you foolish Half-breed." He sneered. Pointing her secondary wand at him she threw a mild pain curse at him. She moved to the girl's side, and Dray and Vius instinctively understood what she was about to do. Becoming visible, prepared to cry as Ryll slit her wrist and forced the girl's mouth open and allowed some of her blood to drip in. The wound sealed immediately, and colour returned to the girl's face and the shadow became solid. The two phoenix wept into her mouth, and then at a nod from Ryll grabbed the girl and twisted the mists around the three of them, leaving Ryll alone with Riddle.

"She is one of mine. If not by birth, but by blood she is mine. She was a Slytherin, and now is the first daughter of Avalon, ally of Slytherin..."

"How dare you... Who are you?"

"How dare I? Very easily, my little Lord Voldemort. As to who I am ... I am that which you are not. I am Lady Amaryllis Slytherin. I am Lady Twilight. For this traitorous form at least I am thy doom, for you seek to upset the delicate balance by existing in two forms in one time. You must pay for betraying your house and your bloodline. I as her Dame, and the true heir have the right to your head, and I intend to take it." Snarling the boy turned and drew a sword from its concealed sheath, and kissed it. Ryll did the same. They fought viciously, and he cut her. Instead of fighting it this time she surrendered to instinct and she disarmed and vanished his sword as he whispered the fateful words.

- Setaesth. Your master calls. - The basilisk, contrary to popular belief is not bound to the heir. Instead it bonds for life to its master, and it bonded to Riddle the first time he opened the chamber. As Ryll turned away, he uttered his final orders before slipping into unconsciousness. - Destroy she who tried to destroy me. Other than that kill all you can. -

Something huge hit the floor in the main chamber, between her and her escape, and she could feel it trying to get out. Turning to Riddle, she beheaded the boy-who-had-been-a-monster and left him to kill the guardian he had corrupted into forming a life-bond.

It was an enormous serpent, bright poisonous green, and thick as an oak trunk. As it heard her footsteps the snake whipped round and she only just got her eyes shut in time; not willing to test a vampire's immunity to its gaze.

"_Vius, Dray, Get your arse down here. He's bound the basilisk to his will, and there's no way I can finish it on my own!" _She mind spoke her bonded, while hiding from the basilisk. A muted double pop was her only answer, and the sudden noise as something hit the pillar she was hiding behind rather hard. Wincing she risked her eyes and opened them and emerged from the rear of the pillar. Vius and Dray were soaring around its head, and the Basilisk was snapping furiously at them with fangs long and thin as sabres.

They dived. Their long beaks sank out of sight into the basilisk's eyes and two showers of dark blood sprayed the floor. Serpent blinded the pair transformed into their light-wing and shadow-wing forms. The serpent snapped round, obviously still more than capable of hunting by smell and sound, and rearing, opened its mouth wide and tried to bite Ryll. It lunged wildly and Ryll plunged the thin Slytherin blade through the roof of its mouth. But as the warm blood from the serpent bathed Ryll she was compelled to swallow some of the blood, and her bond mates were both pierced with the fangs as the creature fell against them.

White-hot pain consumed the bond, and as one they screamed. As pain surged from her bond mates Ryll fought to think and began a desperate incantation and plea to the deities that bind the trinity.

"My blood has fallen to the earth, and I have satiated my need for revenge. I have honoured my lady with the blood of enemy taken in battle, but I will not allow her to take my kin. You have raised us into Avalon. This cannot be the end. You gave them the forms of phoenix ... let them burn and be reborn. I DEMAND IT, ELSE I WILL FOLLOW THEM INTO DEATH AND TEAR A HOLE IN THE BORDERS TO ALLOW THEM TO RETURN!" As she screamed the last line the two boys burst into flames that quickly vanished leaving two baby boys, and the pain fled her body. She sheathed her blade and picked the two babies up, and twisted from the chamber.


	2. A Place of Refuge

Amaryllis took but a moment to find the red-haired girl and twisted them all into the Slytherin common room. Leaving the girl floating beside her she thrust the two boys into the arms of two seventh year girls. Confident they would look after the pair for a little while at least she lay the red head on one of the couches and hit the alarm twice and collapsed.

The students started to flood in through the doors and two men rolled out of the abruptly green fire. Within a matter of seconds the common room was fully defended and the adults had arrived, with all exits covered and no possible entrance and exit.

"Lower years stand to. Seventh years, sixth years take the doors. No Romani, Emerald you stay here and hold onto the boys." One of the men who rolled out of the fire ordered. He turned to the head of Slytherin as he finished a complex manipulation of the house wards.

"Anyone specifically medical/healer trained and curse breakers remain in the common room. Seventh years guard the doors; sixth years take the younger years back to dormitories. Secure them and remain with them. Nothing should be able to enter or leave until I lift the wards, but we must be prepared. Move!" Severus voice rose towards the end of his statement and those not required fled the room.

Aside from the seventh years only three remained and set to work to heal the four. After nearly half an hour they had successfully flushed their systems of basilisk poison or Ginevra's case of sapping potion and the Imperious curse. Upon success the two girls came round and the interrogation began.

"I think Ryll we will start with what caused you to turn Evra?" Severus asked

"It was the only way I could think of to break the bond Riddle had forced on her. It was either that I kill them both. As it is she has gained more than she has lost, for she is now the first daughter of Avalon and is immortal without blood thirst and sun fear." Ryll spoke reluctantly, her eyes watching the younger girl carefully. Evra hugged her gently.

"Evra what were you doing in the Chamber?"

"I was being possessed and drained of my life by Riddle. Damn it I really need to learn to break the Imperious curse and strangle Lucius Malfoy." Ryll looked into her childe's eyes and swore as she realised Evra had taken refuge in her vampiric detachment. Wincing, Ryll carefully broke the block and allowed her to cry. One of the seventh year Mediwitches removed a vial of sleeping potion from her robes and forced Evra to drink it. Judging Ryll's mental state carefully, he asked his last question.

"Will you allow me to view what happened either in a pensieve or by Legilmancy?"

"Pensieve. I can't sleep and remember this." With a wave of her hand an ornate pensieve appeared and she dragged a matted lump of memory forth and placed in the bowl, and then lying back on her couch fell asleep.

Severus summoned Arabelle to watch over his house and plunged into the pensieve and watched as the nightmarish evening unfolded. The only humour was Ryll's threatening of the Powers That Be, though that let him understand how to sort Vius and Dray out.

Emerging from the trance he invoked the father and god father bonds and forced enough of his magic down them that they transformed from human to phoenix and back again, this time at a more normal age.


End file.
